Predator
by corriandar
Summary: It doesn't take Anko much to remember. All the memories she had buried away are suddenly awoken as she stumbles across an injured Orochimaru on the outskirts of Konoha.


**AN: **Hey! I know I should really be working on Pretty Lies (yes I have started the first chapter, barely though) But I kind of got obsessed with this pairing and had to write a one shot. It didn't turn out the way I wanted it to, and I didn't have a plot, at all. Let me know what you think, **tell me if I should take it down **please, I have no idea what was going through my head when I wrote this.

**Warning: **EXTREMELY DISTURBING, and terribly unedited writing…

**Disclamer: **I do not own Naruto.

--

The dark forest was completely dead silent, there wasn't even any bird calls or howls from the animals. The mid-afternoon was usually the busiest time of the day, but after the recent occurrences, not one soul dared to set foot into the woods.

Anko quietly felt around her waist for her pouch, silently sliding out her sharpest kunai, discreetly holding it by her side, out of anyone else' line of vision. She was all alone this time; no one would be there to help her.

She had been sent by the Hokage to survey the outskirts of Konoha, just outside the village itself. According to the Tsunade, there had been disturbances in the forest surrounding the village; travelers had been disappearing mysteriously and blood stains had been found covering a fair amount of trees.

Her job had been to discover exactly 'what' or 'who' had been causing the disappearances, which were in no doubt related to the blood stains. She thought it was unusual for things to be so oddly quiet, the forest was usually full of life; she couldn't understand what may have changed that so suddenly.

Anko glanced around the clearing, viewing and noting every tree that appeared to have been slashed by what was either an extremely thin blade or extraordinarily sharp claws, either way it had done extensive amounts of damage. The ground which she was standing on also looked quite wrecked; small craters and large gashes in the ground gave away the fact that something unusual had occurred in that clearing.

She noted every detail that proved _something _had happened there, not missing anything important. She tensed as she noticed the carcass of a large animal, it appeared to have been there for at least a day, its spine had been viciously ripped out and the ribs were half removed, protruding out from the animals' chest in a macabre fashion.

"What on earth…" she whispered to herself, staring down at the sorry excuse for a body.

Nausea swept its way throughout her stomach as she stared into the gaping black holes where eyes should have been, sticky white liquid oozed from them. Her dark eyes focused on the bloody heart which was merely a meter away, a trail of scarlet liquid from the body to the lump of bloody muscle tissue, severed arteries and veins next to the nothingness where the beating organ was supposed to be.

She forced herself to look away from the disgusting sight; something had savagely killed that animal, obviously not for food, it was almost as if the predator had been _playing _with its prey.

She took a few steps away from the messy carcass, usually she liked seeing a bit of blood, she actually enjoyed it, but this animal was more than bloody; it was completely mutilated. She continued to the follow the trail of destruction that had been left behind; it seemed as if this creature had no real destination except to destroy anything in its way.

The path that she was walking on had branches and leaves carelessly thrown over top it, almost as if someone had attempted to lousily conceal the road, she had no clues as to why. Everywhere she looked, the forest seemed to be ruined in some form or another, she came to an immediate halt as she smelt the faint coppery scent of blood. Anko grimaced slightly as she inhaled, there was no mistaking that smell, she had grown up to be bloodthirsty, and her former Sensei had nourished her blood craving.

She raised her pale hand and reached out to touch some dried blood that had been splattered on a near by bush, the thick green leaves coated in the dark red liquid, attractively so. Her finger barely brushed against the blood before she tensed and tightened her grip on the kunai she had been holding all this time; the blood was still wet and warm; fresh.

Her eyes darted around rapidly, searching for any other signs of danger, hoping that they wouldn't catch her unaware. She held the kunai defensively in front of her body, not bothering to be discreet anymore, her other hand was tightly balled into a fist, ready to strike anything that came near.

When it became apparent that no one was going to attack her, she relaxed a little, but still kept her guard, ears pricking up to hear even the slightest of sounds that weren't her own. She bent over to sniff the crimson wet liquid, almost feeling pleasure as the coppery scent was deeply inhaled into her lungs, it was wrong, but she just couldn't help but to love it.

Stepping away from the blood coated leaves almost seemed physically hard, as if she was drawn to it, like a magnet. She kept her kunai ready in her talented hands, her arms ready to defend herself if needed, and legs ready to sprint.

She pulled herself up and walked on, tensely so, she was half expecting someone to attack her from behind, she must be on guard at all times. She reached into her pocket and loosely gripped the handle of a sharp blade, but kept it hidden in her pocket, if anyone was planning on attacking her, she didn't want them to know she was carrying anything more than a few kunai, they'd underestimate her.

She craned her neck to look up at the clear sky, it had been mid-afternoon when she'd arrived in the forest, now it was almost evening, she hadn't realized time had passed so quickly.

"Fuck." She swore loudly, her investigation still wasn't complete, yet it was becoming darker by the minute, soon the entire forest would become a mass of pitch black. She tugged violently on strands of her dark purple hair; appearing almost onyx in the shadows cast by the trees, she decided that she would complete the task that she had been given, hoping to win the trust of Konoha's villagers and elders. Anko gritted her teeth at the thought; maybe she'd be promoted from _special _Jounin to just Jounin, she knew that everyone thought less of her due to who her Sensei had been. Orochimaru's training had not been her fault.

She forced herself to move forward, biting her lip hard enough to draw blood, she noticed that the further she was walking the more destroyed the area appeared. Slashes on the trees' were deeper, less controlled, craters in the ground were no longer small, and the scent of blood was without a doubt a stronger.

Anko's excitement was barely contained, whatever it was, she was getting closer, the satisfied smirk echoed her thoughts on her face; she was looking forward to a bloodthirsty fight.

Pushing herself to walk faster, Anko was almost giddy with excitement at thought of a fight, someone to take all her resentment out on, to watch their crimson blood flow freely from a wound that she had inflicted. Her expression was animalistic; feral grin, sharp fangs representing that of a hunter who had his prey cornered, dark eyes; hungry for a kill.

Intimidating.

By now she was sprinting, guided by the strong scent of blood, she barely glanced at her surroundings, only taking note of the amount of damage she passed.

Anko ripped the thin silver blade out of her pocket, bringing it up towards her face, she glanced at her reflection in the sharp knife for a split second before placing the blade over the corner of her mouth, her long tongue poked out from between wet lips and hungrily took a licked at the blade's ice cold surface, accidentally grazing the sharpest point, causing red liquid to run over silver metal, before dripping onto the ground beneath her.

The special Jounin shivered silently as the cold wind brushed against her lithe form, fishnet and thin material only provided so much protection against the elements. She was about to rush forward again, until she heard someone gasp, something she usually wouldn't have picked up had the forest not been dead silent. As soon as she heard the noise she froze, quick reflexes causing her to hold her breath and listen, she turned slowly so that she was facing the way in which the quiet gasps were coming from.

She took a step forward, making sure not to step on any twigs or leaves which would cause noise, both hands had a steady grip on each weapon. The formerly bright sun had just set, meaning it was almost impossible to see what was in front of her, someone could attack and she would be unaware.

Another guttural groan of pain echoed throughout the forest, the voice was decidedly male, Anko grinned savagely when she realized that this person was injured; and she was getting closer. Soon she will have caught the person who was causing the disappearances, she would be able to return back to the village, and hopefully she'd earn the elder's respect.

Anko reached out and steadied herself against a tree, she placed a hand over her mouth; attempting to smother the panting. Her keen brown eyes traced over the ravaged nature, they narrowed slightly when she spotted a figure laying on patch of grass at least 100m away, the only features she could make out was the long black hair that reflected the moonlight.

She leapt forward to hide behind another tree trunk, this person was more than likely to be a powerful shinobi if they could take out anyone who entered the forest, and manage to force any living creature to desert their home.

She rested her arm on a branch and placed the kunai in her mouth, sharp teeth biting down into the base. With one of her arms free, Anko was able to steady herself easier now; she took a few more steps toward the figure, cursing mentally when she almost placed her foot on a snapped off branch.

The closer she got to this person, the more familiar he became; long raven black hair, flawless pale white skin, it was just too bad he wasn't facing her, she wanted to get a glimpse of his face, just to prove that he wasn't the man she was dreading.

Venturing further, she was glad that he still hadn't realized she was there, thankful that the man wasn't properly alert. He was only a few meters away now, back facing towards her. She shoved the sharp blade into her right hand and jumped forward, intending to bury the knife through his spine, paralyzing him.

He turned around at the last moment, Anko's silver blade only inches away from his pale body, shock was written entirely over her face, eyes wide open, and all intentions of slaughter gone.

"Orochimaru." She stated tonelessly, he supposed it was meant to pass as some lame attempt of greeting. The onyx haired man stared up at his former student, the girl who had adored him endlessly, but he guessed that would have changed by now, after everything that had happened.

Anko snapped back into it, her grip on the knife tightening, preparing to attack. But she wasn't sure she could, this was her Sensei, the man who had taught her everything she knew, the one who had taken her in after her family had been killed, the only person she'd ever admired and respected, perhaps she'd loved him as well.

She looked into Orochimaru's unique golden eyes, snake like and predatory, they still held the same monstrous gleam that she remembered from when she was younger, barely anything had changed about him. The knowing smirk was still plastered onto his pale face, still confident, the only giveaway to his discomfort was the pained expression, the knot between his arched eyebrows.

He was still sickeningly beautiful.

Seeing her Sensei for the first time in years was bringing back feelings, ones that she'd had when she was younger, locking them away in the back of her mind when she'd been abandoned by him. Anko bet she was a dead giveaway, letting her emotions show on her face, she knew he wouldn't be proud, showing emotions was a sign of weakness.

She tried to push away the feelings of love she'd had for Orochimaru, not wanting to remember them. She spat on the ground before looking up at him, "What the fuck?" she growled angrily, she'd pretend to hate him, perhaps things would work out alright then, and she could push her feelings to the back of her mind once again.

At that moment she noticed the bloody marks covering his body, his chest full of gashes and what appeared to be a deep cut ranging from collar bone to hip, his breathing was coming in short gasps, and he looked as though he was about to pass out. He narrowed his eyes before replying to her comment, "What the hell do you think happened? One of my 'experiments' decided to test his boundaries!" he viciously spat back, with the amount of blood he'd lost he would soon faint, he had not thought it crucial to carry anything to heal himself with when he traveled.

"You sick fuck. I should kill you here, right now."

That was a lie. And she knew it. There was no way she would be able to kill the one person that she'd ever loved, she couldn't even bring herself to harm him. She crouched down next to him, still wary that he would attack though; he glared at her with his golden eyes, framed by thick black lashes.

"Can you really kill me?" the Sannin asked, almost sarcastically. She wanted to reply, 'Yes' she would have snarled, and then slit his throat, presumably ending his existence. But she couldn't, so she just stared back at him, the Sensei she had admired so much was lying in front of her, injured and about to pass out.

The special Jounin sighed and contemplated what she should do. Killing him would leave her with dying with regret, but leaving him here wouldn't fulfill anything, neither option sounded too tempting. She reached into her pocket and searched around for a needle and thread, lips pursed in concentration; the corners of her mouth twitched up as her fingers curled around the needle and picked up the thread.

She sat down on the blunt boulder next to Orochimaru, hoping to get in a more comfortable position; Anko placed the two objects on her lap before grasping the needle up with one hand and taking the thread in her other. She put the white thread to the corner of her lips and lightly wet it with her tongue, moist and ready to be threaded through the small needle hole.

She shuffled closer to her former Sensei, feeling almost as if she was the young girl who had trained under him again, willing to do whatever he wanted. He eyed her warily from where he was lying; he thought he'd taught her better than to attack someone with a fucking _needle _and _thread._

"Take off your shirt."

She looked completely serious; the expression on her face was of deep concentration, all bloodthirstiness that was there before was now gone. His breathing was labored and he did not question her, he highly doubted she would kill him now; he inhaled sharply as she ripped his shirt off for him once she realized he wasn't able to move his arms properly.

Another hiss as she stabbed him unexpectedly with the sharp sterilized needle, Anko tied a knot at the end of the thread before starting her work on the deepest cut on his chest. He winced as she tugged on the blood soaked piece of thread, thankful that he wasn't fully conscious.

She continued this painful pattern on each gash on his muscled body, she tiredly formed a knot on the last cut before standing up and using his shirt to soak up water from the river they were fortunately situated next to, she placed his shirt on his chest, using it to wipe away the excess blood.

She leaned back into the hard rock and breathed out a much needed sigh of relief, wiping her own sweaty forehead with her hand before closing her eyes and allowing herself to relax. Anko stole a glance at the Sannin who appeared to have either fainted or fallen asleep; he was still the same damn attractive man that she'd looked up to when she was his student.

"Son of a bitch…" she whispered, not expecting him to hear, it was his entire fault for the way she had turned out, the person she had grown up to be. A bitter frown marred her pretty face as she thought about it, but she couldn't say that she had regrets training with him, no, that was something she would never regret.

Anko slowly opened her brown eyes, her face unreadable; the only giveaway was the way her body shook with every move she made, shivering silently, but not due to the cold. She glanced over at Orochimaru's devastatingly perfect face; the purple marks lining his eyes seemed darker, more prominent. She lifted a hand curiously; allowing it to hover over her former Sensei's closed eyes, knowing all too well that his alluring golden irises were hidden beneath.

Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to just give something a try, something Anko had always wanted to do since when she was younger. She moved her hand so it was now resting on his pale lips, her thumb lightly caressing his lower one. She leant over so that her face was merely inches away from his, noses slightly grazing, she didn't notice that his golden eyes were open, curious as to what she was doing.

She pressed her soft lips gently against his wet ones, giving him a soft chaste kiss, she gasped into his mouth when a cold arm snaked behind her neck and held her there. She felt him smirk against her lips; she couldn't believe she was actually doing this.

Anko pulled back after a moment and stared down at her feet, finally going to admit something that she could barely even say to herself. She made a vague sound at the back of her throat, "I… I really did miss you, you know…" she whispered, unable to meet his eyes. A long elegant hand grasped her chin and forced her to look at him, a hint of a smirk ghosted over his lips, "That's good." He replied, his expression almost mocking.

The Jounin lay down and rested her head next to her the legendary Sannin's, knowing that his deceitful golden eyes were more than likely burning holes into the back of her head. But things could wait until morning; she just needed a decent sleep now. A small smile adorned her face as she shut her eyes, she would be lying if she said she regretted kissing Orochimaru.

She finally knew what his lips tasted like.


End file.
